Minimax in Portland Oregon?

[Bryan Hall]

Anyone have a full combo machine in the Portland area and willing to show it off? I'm expanding the shop capabilities and am considering one but since I've never even had my hands on a sliding table saw, it's a tough buy.

[Jim Becker]

Give Sam Blasco a call or email and ask if he's aware of any owners up in that area and/or post on the Minimax discussion group which is pretty specific to the brand. groups.io /g/ MinimaxOwnersGroup

You will likely be surprise at how well you will enjoy the slider once you get used to it and start thinking in terms of slider use vs cabinet saw use. :)

[Bryan Hall]

Give Sam Blasco a call or email and ask if he's aware of any owners up in that area and/or post on the Minimax discussion group which is pretty specific to the brand. groups.io /g/ MinimaxOwnersGroup

You will likely be surprise at how well you will enjoy the slider once you get used to it and start thinking in terms of slider use vs cabinet saw use. :)

Thanks for the lead Jim. Sam hasn't been able to direct me to a machine, but I'll try the group. Believe it or not the closest thing I've come to finding a slider of any brand in the Portland area is a laguna panel saw. I figured there would be at least a few in the area.

[Jim Becker]

The group is likely a better bet for you to find a machine you can travel to see. I'm sure there are bunches of them around, but well hidden just to be frustrating. :)

[Gordon Dale]

Hi Bryan, The Guild of Oregon Woodworkers in Portland has an SAC CS4 Sliding Table Saw. Not a minimax, obviously, but if you want to see a sliding table saw in action, they can probably walk you through it. They might also know of a local member with the saw you are wondering about. There are also many advantages to becoming a member yourself.

[Bryan Hall]

Hi Bryan, The Guild of Oregon Woodworkers in Portland has an SAC CS4 Sliding Table Saw. Not a minimax, obviously, but if you want to see a sliding table saw in action, they can probably walk you through it. They might also know of a local member with the saw you are wondering about. There are also many advantages to becoming a member yourself.

Thanks Gordon!

I hadn't thought of asking them. I joined the guild shortly before the pandemic hit, and then they closed for the most part. I'd like to be more involved with them but its a long drive out there for me (up to an hour with traffic) so being an active member would have been a challenge anyways. I'll reach out and see if someone has one!

[Mike King]

David Best has a Felder Kappa saw. He is the font of a great deal of information on how to set up, use, and modify Felder high end machines and was the primary author of the Felder Survival Guide. He lives in Portland.

I'm positive there are a large number of sliding table saws in Portland, but you may have difficulty finding someone to show them to you; most are probably used in commercial businesses and they have work to do.

Mike

[Jim Becker]

Brian, I see you got some possibilities in the owners' group. It would be really worth your time to do a "field trip", even though it might mean some travel...getting an up-close look really will help you appreciate the quality of machines like this as well as give you a handle on space, etc. Combine it with some relaxation/fun...a mini-vacation, as it were, and take a significant other if that's part of your situation. :) I've had quite a few visits from prospective SCM/Minimax customers over the years to fondle the Italian toys and it's always been a pleasant experience.

[Bryan Hall]

Brian, I see you got some possibilities in the owners' group. It would be really worth your time to do a "field trip", even though it might mean some travel...getting an up-close look really will help you appreciate the quality of machines like this as well as give you a handle on space, etc. Combine it with some relaxation/fun...a mini-vacation, as it were, and take a significant other if that's part of your situation. :) I've had quite a few visits from prospective SCM/Minimax customers over the years to fondle the Italian toys and it's always been a pleasant experience.

Looks like a 410 just popped up in Hood River! I'm an avid windsports guy so I'm up there at least once a week for fun so that will hopefully work out for me.

I'm quite excited. My new planer just crapped out and is getting returned. That, and I'm in the market for a shaper, so it seems like the time is right. I've been watching Sam Blascos videos and there's just one nuance that I want to see/feel. When he's cutting things along the rip fence, it looks quite awkward to lean over the slider to access the right side of the blade. I want to see how that really is in person. If you have thoughts/feedback on that feel free to throw it out!

Maybe I can now justify getting an airbnb up there as part of a work trip and take the lady on some wine tours...

[Jim Becker]

LI've been watching Sam Blascos videos and there's just one nuance that I want to see/feel. When he's cutting things along the rip fence, it looks quite awkward to lean over the slider to access the right side of the blade. I want to see how that really is in person. If you have thoughts/feedback on that feel free to throw it out!

I had doubts about that at first, too, and keep in mind that I had the S315WS slider in my shop which made it pretty much physically impossible to stand in "cabinet saw" position to use the traditional rip fence unless it was a really wide panel. So...I didn't use the fence for things like ripping lumber that was more than, like, say...6" wide. I used the wagon. Perfectly straight, no saw marks and edge jointed at the same time. When I did use the fence (mostly in the low position for easier hand and push block/stick clearance, I just became comfortable with being to the side and frankly OUT of the line of fire. I'm missing that big-time right now being back on a cabinet saw in my temporary shop. The bottom line is honestly, you get used to the new position when you must use the fence and use different methods. One of the points of a slider is not actually having to use a rip fence for everything. ;)

[Dave Cav]

. One of the points of a slider is not actually having to use a rip fence for everything. ;)

I don't use the rip fence on my SC4E at all any more other than as a stop for repetitive short crosscuts. Any time I have something too narrow to rip on the wagon, I use the band saw.

[Chris Parks]

I don't use the rip fence on my SC4E at all any more other than as a stop for repetitive short crosscuts. Any time I have something too narrow to rip on the wagon, I use the band saw.

I cut a short (300mm) length of rip fence and use that as a stop. An F&F jig suffices for most of the ripping I need to do.

[Jim Becker]

I cut a short (300mm) length of rip fence and use that as a stop. An F&F jig suffices for most of the ripping I need to do.

I did the same for the slide I had in the old shop...the OEM high/low fence was way longer than necessary, especially because I did not normally have it go beyond the blade when in use, so taking a foot off to use as a setup fence for repeat crosscutting of short things was pretty much a no-brainer. And because it was short, it could be setup "on the mark" rather than having to "burn an inch" or whatever with a typical tee-square type fence on a cabinet saw.

[Kevin Jenness]

It is awkward but you either get used to it or you move away from relying on the rip fence in extended position by the techniques described above. My saw's carriage is only about 11" wide so not such a stretch, and I do use the rip fence a fair amount for long rips. You can get the feel of it by working on the left side of your existing saw. If you have the room to keep your cabinet saw I would recommend it.

There are tradeoffs, but I would have a hard time giving up my slider given the way I work. A combination machine has more tradeoffs in that you have to plan your work more carefully and spend more time switching functions, but they certainly can be useful in a small one man shop.

[Bryan Hall]

Got to play with the Minimax CU 410E today. Processed a bunch of rough sawn lumber and also ran a bunch of veneered plywood through the machine to see how well it crosscuts. It really is a great design and easy to use machine. I was impressed at how fast the changeovers were. This is undoubtedly the machine to have if you are limited on space. It takes up a much smaller footprint than the plans led me to believe. For me, the most important part of the whole setup is the scoring blade on the sliding saw. Being able to make those cuts so effortlessly, with so little setup, is worth a lot. I'm not sure I need a full combo, but I'm convinced that a slider would be ideal.

[Jim Becker]

'Glad you got to fondle one! And yea...the slider. I miss my slider...